NYC sets minimum wage for Uber, Lyft drivers

New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission voted Tuesday to set a minimum hourly wage for Uber and Lyft drivers.

The new rules passed by the commission set the minimum wage at $17.22 an hour and make New York the first U.S. city to establish a minimum pay rate for those drivers, the Independent Drivers Guild said in a statement. 

The new minimum pay rules will go into effect at the end of the year and are expected to raise pay by $9,600 annually for drivers, according to an analysis by the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

{mosads}Jim Conigliaro Jr., the founder of the Independent Drivers Guild, said in a statement Tuesday that “desperately needed relief” had been brought to families of Uber and Lyft drivers with the commission’s vote.

“All workers deserve the protection of a fair, livable wage and we are proud to be setting the new bar for contractor workers’ rights in America,” he added. “We are thankful to the Mayor, Commissioner [Meera] Joshi and the Taxi and Limousine Commission, City Council Member Brad Lander and all of the city officials who listened to and stood up for drivers.”

The commission’s vote follows a push from Uber and Lyft drivers in New York City to have their pay raised. Drivers have previously said that their current pay rates make it difficult to make ends meet.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission determined in its analysis that pay for drivers has been falling and that expenses have caused “significant financial investment and risk on the part of drivers.”